


It's cliché, so what?

by calystegia



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, POV Third Person, Romance, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8887120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calystegia/pseuds/calystegia
Summary: Kind of like an AU of my main Adachi story; different circumstances, different ending. Adachi decides he'll flee Inaba to avoid capture, but not before he tells Kiyoko the truth of what has happened; she deserves that much. What will be her reaction?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a pretty long time ago, I hope it isn't too bad;; Title inspired from that one episode from The Golden Animation.

There were lots of ways this game could end. He could get caught and go to prison. He could never be recognized as the real killer. The town could be covered in fog forever, and the people succumb to shadows. Hell, in some other universe, he probably had some fool accomplice to help him get away with it.

But in this one, he didn't. In this universe, they're bound to find out any day now. So this time, the game will have to end with him disappearing. 

He'll run away. Simple as that. Just like one of those stupid Hollywood dramas. Boring as it may be, he's accepted it as the best option this time around. Live out the remainder of his dreadful life in prison, or in another city far away? Not quite the toughest choice. He didn't have any connections in this dull town, not other than the Dojimas anyway. Nobody will notice he's gone. Nobody. At least, not until they realize he's the criminal they've spent a year searching for.

Except...maybe her.

He hated to admit it, but he wasn't going to let himself fade away without talking to her once more. She was a weakness, a bother, she made him _feel_ things. Yet at the same time, she was his strength, his joy, she made him feel...human. To have someone, a woman, depend on _him_ for happiness, depend on him to feel wanted and desired, was something only she had done for him. He merely kept her to feed his frail pride, to make a point to others that _he was worth it_. That he was good enough. That's how it was in the beginning, anyhow. 

He didn't expect her to stay long. She would see his true colors at some point and find out how he really felt about the world. She would think him disgusting, a bad influence, a monster...but she didn't leave. Yes, she discovered all his imperfections. He broke, his life spilling out before her, all the negativity, the twisted emotions, the _hate_. And what did she do? She didn't leave him to wallow in his mess of flaws, to add another unlucky experience to the bottom of his list. No, instead, she helped him clean up. She picked up the shattered glass and tried her hand at the 3,000 piece puzzle to repair it. She was doing a good job of it so far, all she needed was the necessary time. 

She won't be able to complete it now though. His time has run out. 

The fog was even thicker at night, with no hot sun to cut through it. He could still see the glass door of her apartment balcony, though. He searched the ground, kicked at the dirt, and found what he needed.

Her tired brown eyes belatedly opened, her vision a little blurry since she was still drifting in the void between sleep and consciousness. She had been hearing the taps for a few minutes now, in odd patterns, cutting into her dreams to fit in, but her mind couldn't react. One particularly loud clunk on her balcony made her jump, successfully bringing both her mind and body into reality. The brunette laid there, wondering if what she heard was part of her dream or not. When there was yet another hard tap at the glass, she sat up abruptly and removed the covers from herself. 

As she tread the darkness of the room, there was one more tap before she reached the balcony door. Pushing the curtains aside carefully, she observed the new, tiny scratches etched across the center of the glass. Opening the door to observe further, she noticed over a dozen pebbles scattered about at her feet; the obvious cause of the clacking. The brunette walked out onto the balcony to investigate, and once she looked over the railing she sighed at what she saw.

A familiar detective with a crooked tie was bending over and shuffling the ground to find another rock to throw. When he stood up and turned around, they made eye contact, causing in him to toss the now unneeded pebble away. "Good morning, Kiyoko," he smiled crookedly up at her.

"Tohru, it's three o'clock in the morning! What are you doing here?" she yelled as hushed as she could down at him. 

Tohru. Only she called him that. Another piece of the puzzle she solved. 

Kiyoko visibly shivered in the cold fog, only wearing a nightgown that, dare he say, looked very cute on her. 

"I don't want to keep you out here long," Adachi began, "I just wanted to see you before I left, is all."

She looked like she was going to say something, but stopped herself instead, wanting him to go on.

"I didn't come here to tell you the whole story. But I," he hesitated. What if she...

No, she wouldn't. It's like before. Kiyoko wouldn't think of him that way. Adachi knew her better than that.

"I killed Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi."

Kiyoko's eyes widened at him. Her mouth opened and closed again, but she could hardly let out even a breath. The two women were dead before she ever met Adachi. So she voluntarily fell in love with a serial killer. There was a pang in her heart when she imagined him involving himself with those other women, but her jealousy shouldn't be what's important right now, she needed to realize she could've been next at any time. Wasn't she always just another woman to him? He could have killed her too, if he wanted...but he didn't. Month after month after month and he didn't harm her. Never more than twice did he act violent with her, with valid reasons, might she add. That's what kept her quiet. To her, the label “serial killer” didn’t suit him.

After the pause, Adachi continued, "I've decided I can't stay in Inaba anymore. The police are going to realize it was me any day now, and I'd rather not spend my life in prison. That would be terrible, wouldn't it?" He shrugged, and she pursed her lips. "So all I really have left to say is...goodbye. You won't see me ever again. And that's it."

He waited for something from her. Anything. Some sort of response. A curse, a tear, a returned farewell. And instead there was silence. Painful silence. 

But before he could turn his disappointed eyes from hers, Kiyoko said quietly, "Wait here," and ran back inside. However, she came back immediately and added, "Promise?"

Adachi gave her a questioning look, "Only if you promise not to call the police." She wouldn't, right?

With that vow she returned to her room and left him waiting there, wondering what exactly she was doing. He wasn't worried she would do something to give him away, he had a very convincing feeling things wouldn't go sour right now. Was this the amount of trust he had allowed himself give to this one woman? 

Within two minutes Kiyoko came back out onto the balcony, dressed in regular clothing with a small satchel hanging on her shoulder. This time she slid the door closed behind her before approaching the ledge. "Here, catch this," she said, taking her bag into hand and preparing to toss it down to him. Adachi looked skeptic, and belatedly brought up his hands to catch the bag she threw down. 

"Okay, now I'm going to need you to do the same for me," Kiyoko called down to him, trying to hold back a smile as she crawled over the railing.

"You... _what?_ " 

"Don't you dare drop me, Tohru!" It looked to be about five and half meters up, so Kiyoko didn't think she'd die if she hit the ground...but she probably would if she fell wrong. 

"What are you trying to do?" He yelled up at her, "I'm not going to-"

"Three, two, one, catch!" She lowered herself as much she could before making the jump for Adachi's arms that opened up reflexively. 

"Hey! Kiyoko!" Adachi shouted angrily, but also worried that he wasn't going to be able to catch her. It happened so fast, he hardly thought about what he was doing, and then he fell to the ground under the weight of his lover. 

"Oww..." The detective groaned tiredly, feeling a throbbing pain in the back of his head. His arms around the body on top of him tightened to make sure that he was indeed holding someone, hopefully unharmed. Kiyoko raised her head from his chest and their eyes met. She sighed, "Sorry... Did I hurt you?"

"Whatever..." Adachi let his head fall back to the grass and removed his arms from Kiyoko's waist. Then she smiled at him, "Nice catch!"

Adachi grumbled and scolded her, "Why didn't you use the door?" 

"Well, you didn't either," her smile turned into a teasing smirk.

"Just get off of me already," he ordered, and Kiyoko followed through by lifting herself up and standing. She extended a hand for him, which he grabbed instinctively. He clicked his tongue. This isn't what he should be doing right now. 

"What the hell did you do that for, dumbass?" Adachi asked bitterly as she picked up her bag he had thrown to the side in the midst of her falling. 

"Well you're leaving Inaba for good, right? So...I'm coming with you," she said in all seriousness, tucking some of her long hair behind her ear. 

Kiyoko didn't get a response. Adachi stood there, hardly amused, searching her eyes for a hint of uncertainty, reluctance, hesitation... But there was nothing. Only the truth. She meant every word she said, and looked as if she was going to stand by it no matter what. 

"I'm not taking you with me," he told her firmly.

"That's fine. Even if you don't want me to come, I'll still follow you wherever you go."

Adachi was starting to get upset, "Why? Are you really going to abandon everything just to follow me around?"

"I'm not leaving _everything_ , I have my bag with my wallet and my phone and..." Kiyoko knew that's not what he meant, but she thought she was getting her point across. "Besides...what's the point in being here if..." the brunette tightened her grip on her satchel strap, "If...I can't spend time with you anymore?"

What a disgustingly cliché thing to say, Adachi thought. But he knew she was being honest, and his frown grew, "You just don't get it, do you?"

Kiyoko's brown eyes shifted from his shoes to his face. He looked like he would break.

Adachi grabbed her shoulders far from delicately, "I'm a killer! A criminal, a danger! Do you understand what that means?" Kiyoko's eyes grew bigger from his aggressive actions, "I'm the worst! I could harm you at anytime, moron! Even kill you if I felt like it! Which I have before, just so you know. What, were you thinking following me around would make you happy? How _stupid_ are you? What good will that do for your happiness? I have to hide for the rest of my life, I have to run and pretend for..." 

Then he stopped talking; Kiyoko's hardened gaze was that serious, that understanding. She was fully aware of the situation and fully aware of what her decision meant. She thinks she knows what she's getting herself into, Adachi thought bitterly. What an idiot. That kind of attitude really pisses me off.

Adachi's fist clenched tightly in his pocket, and he turned from the short brunette with a rotten scowl on his face. "...Do what you want," he said while stalking off. Kiyoko wasted no time in getting to Adachi's side, matching his pace to keep up with him. Her left hand grabbed at the fabric of his work jacket, holding his wrist since his hand was buried in his pocket. Whether it was subconscious or not, Adachi took his hand out to grab hers, nearly shivering at how cold Kiyoko's fingers were when they fit between his. He didn't care; his were probably just as frozen. 

The silence was broken when the ex-detective questioned, "Aren't you going to ask where we're going?"

"No," Kiyoko replied in monotone, "I don't really care where we go."

With a roll of his eyes, Adachi sighed, and he couldn't tell if it was his hand or hers that tightened its grip on the other's. Maybe it was both.

"...It's not too late. You can still go back. You'll never be able to come back here again."

"Adachi," she said in a firm voice, "I'm not letting you leave alone. Accept it."

Adachi clicked his tongue again, "Whatever." 

Kiyoko truly committed herself to this decision, it was obvious in all her movements. The way her eyes would not falter, how her walking pace was confident, how she looked nowhere but forward or at Adachi. Even as the fog swallowed Kiyoko's apartment building behind them, removing it from visibility, she did not look back. 

Not even once.


End file.
